Bob Otto and Harmon Killebrew have their picture taken at Quakes Stadium in Rancho Cucamonga.

YUCAIPA, CA – Late into the night, lying on my bed in my upstairs farmhouse bedroom, I would listen to Twins games on the old Motorola. Listening and hoping the Killer would crush another of his tape measure home runs.

Back in the early 1960s I was a true Minnesota Twins fan. And my favorite ball player was Hall of Famer, Harmon Killebrew.

But we – his loyal fans – preferred to call him Killer.

Killebrew swung a bat harder than anyone in the game. Killebrew didn’t just hit home runs, he crushed them.

(I think you will enjoy what Harmon Killebrew has to say about players suspected of or caught using steroids, who may later be inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame.)

By Jim Baumbach, Newsday

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The next home run Alex Rodriguez hits will be the 573rd of his career, moving him into a tie with Harmon Killebrew for ninth place on the all-time list.

And Killebrew isn’t too happy about that.

Speaking honestly and diplomatically, Killebrew, 73, never specifically mentioned A-Rod or anybody else by name but still made his point clear Friday: He doesn’t like seeing known steroid users mess with the record books.

“Certainly the players who played years ago are very saddened by anything that hurts the game and integrity of baseball,” Killebrew said at Doubleday Field. “Right now they’ve hurt the integrity of the game.”